HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – The Compass Society, the Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville’s first Now and Later Fund, awarded two nonprofits serving the Greater Huntsville area a combined total of $107,165.02 for initiatives that were high-impact, collaborative, and spanned multiple areas of the Quality of Life framework. Created to “Map the Future” the Compass Society brings the region’s spirit of innovation to generosity and serves as a catalyst for Greater Huntsville’s future.
Village of Promise received $57,165.02 in grant funding to support the Health Services Program which is in partnership with HEALS and WellStone to provide care for Village of Promise scholars, ages 0-5, and their families. Village of Promise will provide access to these health services at an on-site Village of Promise clinic staffed by a registered nurse from HEALS and a school-based therapist from Wellstone. Dana Gillis, CEO of Village of Promise, shares, “The Health Services Program will allow us to provide our clients with the first level of engagement and intervention to meet the basic healthcare needs of our preschool scholars that attend Promise Preparatory School, which is part of our multifaceted approach to addressing intergenerational poverty. All children and adolescents deserve to thrive but too many lack access to healthcare and mental health services. An integrated approach to provide school-based healthcare and mental health services is the solution. It will give our families a chance to reduce their reliance on local emergency rooms for non-emergency healthcare, provide onsite medical professionals to distribute prescriptions during school hours, and create a first layer of access to mental health services. The outcome we want is healthy kindergarten ready scholars who have maximized their days in school with minimal absences.”
Singing River Trail was granted $50,000.00 to launch three SRT Let’s Get Moving Wellness Stations in Bridgeport, Scottsboro, and Gurley. These workout stations will help three trail towns by encouraging physical exercise, mental/emotional health and wellness, community engagement, public art, and economic development. John Kvach, Ph.D., Executive Director of Singing River Trail, says, “The Singing River Trail binds 200+ miles of North Alabama’s aspirations, opportunities, ideas, people, businesses, and towns together . . . metaphorically and physically. By investing in the Singing River Trail, the Compass Society is investing in the people and communities that most need our support and connectivity. A North Alabama who is working together is a better region. The exercise equipment, yoga platform, and public art that will be installed in Bridgeport, Scottsboro, and Gurley are just the beginning of a long relationship between Singing River Trail and the Community Foundation.”
These two grants were made possible by the 76 members of the Compass Society. As one of the Community Foundation’s Now & Later Funds, fifty percent of all Compass Society donations support current year grantmaking to make an immediate impact while the remaining fifty percent of donations are added to the Compass Endowment, now at nearly $1 million, to serve as a permanent source of funding to address community needs. This innovative approach to charitable giving serves as an investment into our community’s future and a commitment to the future generations that will inherit this region as their home.
